Brief:
1.59X upscale o' one o' t' original Estes Goonybirds, t' Super Sky Shriek is for t' most part an E-powered Estes Fat Boy with cool fins and an even cooler paint scheme.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• BT-80 main body tube 8.0"
• Estes PNC-80BB nose cone
• 2 centerin' rings
• 48" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• 48" sewin' elastic shock cord (1/8")

Technically thar were no instructions for t' SSS, me bucko, but part o' t' beauty o' t' rocket be that none were really needed. Ya scallywag! I built t' engine mount usin' some centerin' rings scrounged from an Estes Patriot kit that long ago became somethin' else, a length o' BT-50 for t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, and an E motor hook and engine block. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Once this had dried I tied a length o' Keelhaul®©™ betwixt t' two centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, cut a slot in t' tip o' t' upper ring, slathered t' whole thin' with wood glue and mounted it in t' body tube. T' fin guide from t' original Sky Shriek upscaled a little small, arrr, me hearties, but I compensated for t' error and attached t' fins with LocTite gel CA and wood glue fillets. I made another mistake here that I didn't catch until I was in t' hotel room on Friday night. Avast! I forgot t' three strakes betwixt each pair o' fins...and t' launch lug but that's nothin' new. Begad! Ya scallywag! Luckily I had brought buildin' materials with me includin' balsa and launch lugs so I was able t' cut three lengths o' balsa and prime them before goin' t' bed. Avast! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! At t' field t' next day I painted t' strakes and t' launch lug on t' new table that I bought at Wal-Mart then attached them with epoxy. Aye aye! An hour later it was flight worthy.

Finishing:
Bein' that it is a two-color paint scheme, t' Super Sky Shriek should be an easy rocket t' paint. Begad! It is, but thar are maskin' and placement issues that can be a pain. Ahoy! Havin' already replicated t' paint scheme in a 1:1 clone, ya bilge rat, I thought I'd have no trouble with it's big brother. Ya scallywag! I thought wrong and I have no one t' blame but myself.

I printed out two versions o' t' mask for t' paint scheme, matey, one at 158%, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' other at 159%. Ahoy! I should have gone with one at 160% because that seems t' be t' one that would have worked best on t' copier I used. Avast! T' 158% upscale be far too small and t' 159% was also iffy, shiver me timbers, but since I had already left work for me NSL vacation and be leavin' t' next morning, I be stuck with it. Aye aye! I had previously sprayed t' whole top 2/3 o' t' rocket with Valspar Cherry Red gloss, ya bilge rat, arrr, but as I sometimes do, matey, me hearties, I forgot t' put on t' launch lug. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This is critical because t' launch lug is a major landmark for correctly placin' t' mask. Blimey! Avast! My rocket had no launch lug, me bucko, and since this didn't register at t' time, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I just stuck t' mask on and sprayed t' unmasked area with Valspar gloss black. Begad! Ahoy! It be later when I was peelin' t' mask off that I realized what I had done. T' damage wasn't terminal t' either t' rocket or t' paint job, ya bilge rat, but t' launch lug lines up a lot closer t' one o' t' fins than I'd normally be comfortable with, and this in turn makes decal placement a lot more difficult. I had printed t' upscaled sticker decal onto a large piece o' label paper and carefully cut it out. Begad! I tried a few trial stickings t' see exactly where I could apply it without t' red or black paint showin' in a spot where it shouldn't have. It turned out that me upscale o' t' sticker had been correct, however barely. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' finished product looks great, shiver me timbers, especially with t' "goo-goo-googly" deadlights that me daughter picked out.

Flight:
T' Super Sky Shriek was one o' several first flight rockets that I took with me t' NSL 2007. While it wasn't me first flight on Saturday (as I still had some work t' do on t' strakes), it was definitely t' one I looked forward t' t' most. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I had built it with t' Estes E9-6 in mind and it sat on t' pad next t' Mark Bundick's Astron Sprite upscale. (Bein' on t' pad next t' t' NARRRRR president caused me t' wonder if t' Sky Shriek had undergone a more stringent inspection by t' RSO in case any revolutionaries had secreted themselves inside with ideas o' doin' harm t' Bunny's Sprite. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Sort o' a Trojan Rocket?)

While bein' on t' pad next t' t' president is a high-visibility, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, high-pressure spot on t' bill, matey, t' big Goony was up t' t' task. T' E has become one o' me favorite motors and this flight be as graphic a depiction o' why that I could come up with. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Liftoff was slow enough for me t' easily capture a launch shot, but it left t' pad with authority. Ahoy! I have no way o' figurin' how high it went, but it be plenty high for me, even on a field as large as AMA. Ya scallywag! T' big fins caused it t' windcock slightly but nowhere near as much as I thought it might. Blimey! Arrr! Ejection seemed t' come just as t' rocket lost its forward momentum and recovery was just out past t' high power pads. Ya scallywag! Easily me favorite flight o' NSL.

Flights two and three were both on E9-6s at a recent Quark section launch. Begad! While they were similar t' t' NSL flight in every way, they did do somethin' a little different. Well, arrr, blow me down! Both flights had a whistle after motor burnout that was clearly audible from t' ground. I didn't notice this at NSL, but t' crowd be larger and noisier. Well, blow me down! It's also possible that it didn't whistle at NSL and did at VOA because I replaced one o' t' strakes that sit betwixt t' fins. Well, blow me down! Avast! I'm nay sure which it is, me bucko, but t' whistle lends a whole new meanin' t' t' name "Sky Shriek".

Recovery:
As usual, arrr, t' recovery team consisted o' too much Keelhaul®©™ (four feet or so), too much 1/4" sewin' elastic (ditto four feet), arrr, arrr, and a nylon chute that seems t' get swapped out betwixt a lot o' me E-powered birds. T' date, shiver me timbers, all have performed admirably, although I wish I could find that blanket o' Perma-Waddin' that disappeared durin' t' move a couple o' years ago.

Summary:
PROs: Great lookin' design despite t' tongue in cheek intentions o' t' original Goonies. Begad! Ya scallywag! Upscales nicely in both size and power with a minimum o' muss and fuss. Begad! Arrr! Someone actually thought this was a design I came up with and wondered if it be fit for family launches. Blimey! Whistles durin' t' coast phase. Arrr! Does anyone know if t' original did this?

CONs: What could you say bad about a flyin' tongue?